9 "When we are asleep in our reality, we're awake in our dreams."

{20 years ago}

It was twilight, the light of day slowly manifesting itself. A pulchritudinous, attractive woman and man flew about the woods. Both of them were too beautiful to be considered humans and at the most, 20 years old. The humans had lost them, for Vampires were quicker than any species alive. However, their power still had limits.

"Sunrise in...a few minutes." the woman whispered.

"Jezebel..." the man, whose charming face glowed in the twilight said, "Go."

Jezebel, with her red, scintillating eyes embraced the man.

"I'll not make your sacrifice worthless."

"Make sure you and Ezlynn escape out of here safely."

She nodded, smiling painfully at her husband. He, who looked around 19, patted her silky hair. They had escaped to the woods from the humans who had outnumbered them. Only if it was night, he would have easily killed all 600 of them in a split second, but now, the sun was rising and ready to burn both of them.

"Even if I kill all of them, they'll muster up more people to kill you," he said, closing his eyes, "I can give you, at the most, half an hour before more people chase you. The sun will rise in a few minutes, so hurry and run, Jezebel."

When he opened his eyes, his iris was a shade of blood-red and glared at midair. His aura intensified, red smoke surrounding him as he prepared to fight to his fullest. Jezebel glanced at him for the last time and smiled with pain.

"Please," he whispered as she sprinted off, "Save Ezlynn."

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Jezebel flew across the air to her sumptuous mansion just in time to save herself from the sunlight. It was dark inside, the thick curtains casting the sunlight away.

"My Highness," the Duke, who was waiting for her arrival at the door, bowed, "What are your orders?"

The Duke's eyes were moist, for he had realized it was the end of Vampires. He could feel the Vampire King's life at risk. For the past few months, all the one billion Vampires had been killed with artificial sunlight that humans have created and all that was left was Jezebel, himself, Ezlynn and his son.

"It's our end, Duke." she smiled with remorse, "This is the last order you will receive from me, so heed carefully."

"I will execute any order you say, " he said, knowing that this would also be his last time serving the Vampire Royals.

"You and I will die here."

"No, Your Highness. I will fight to the death with my son while you escape--"

"You're son's too young, Duke. And all I want is him and Ezlynn to be alive."

The Duke stayed silent, then responded,

"Yes, Your Highness."

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"Why is Mother not coming with us, Kieran?" Ezlynn inquired as he lifted her up.

"She's busy, Ezlynn," he responded as he slid himself under the trapdoor along with Ezlynn. Kieran locked the trapdoor from the inside as they did.

Kieran stared into her sweet, sentimental eyes that looked at him in pure delight. He knew that might be his last time looking into them, but decided to remain determined,

"I want you to listen carefully," he lowered his voice, "If I tell you to hide, I want you to open this and slide in, alright?"

Kieran demonstrated to open a lid on the ground which led to a small space inside the trapdoor, enough to fit one teenager.

"And when you feel that it's night, then you can go out. You might feel hungry or thirsty, but only go out when you feel that it's night."

Ezlynn, only 5, wasn't fully aware of the situation but nodded, heeding to his directions. Kieran had been like a brother to her, protecting her and consoling her. She trusted him, even as a 5-year-old, and smiled.

"Good girl," he smiled at her and patted her silver hair.

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"Open the door, blood-suckers," a man shouted from outside of the grandiose mansion.

"It was a pleasure serving you, Your Highness," the Duke told her, stimulating all of his powers.

"Thank you, for all you've done. Even though we're both purebloods, you respected me and did everything you could to fulfill my commands."

Jezebel smiled, her beautiful face enlightening the somber atmosphere.

"I am your loyal servant but I ask you for one last favor."

"What is it? I'm eager to grant it as your last."

The Duke waved his hand at the door as the men outside tried to force it open. The door stiffened, refusing to let anyone in.

"F*cking open, you damnit door!"

There were 500 human soldiers, and none of them could open it with a single wave of the Duke's hand.

"This is my death wish, so please, grant it."

"Duke, this single wish will mean nothing compared to what I owe you." Jezebel responded, "Please tell me."

"Run."

"Smash the windows!" the voice said from the outside.

The Duke's hand shifted to the windows, hardening them as well.

"Is that your death wish?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I would want nothing more than your safety right now."

The Duke, with his seductive features, smiled at Jezebel. He had also loved her dearly.

"I'll save your son." her voice cracked as she smiled. A tear flowed down her face.

"Run, Your Highness," he responded as she quickly flew up the flamboyant staircases into the attic.

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"Ezlynn?"

"Mother!" Ezlynn shouted as Jezebel opened the trapdoor with a key and climbed down.

"Your Highness..." Kieran whispered as Jezebel smiled at him with such astonishing beauty. He knew that it would be his last time seeing such a graceful smile. With her silver hair, large sapphire eyes, and delicate nose and mouth, she was a true beauty.

"After the sun sets, run away to safety with Ezlynn, Kieran. There is $500,000 under the master bed so take it and run."

"No, you cannot die. I'll die instead."

"You're only 9." she said, embracing Ezlynn's small body, "And this will be the last order I command you, so please."

"...Yes." he reluctantly agreed.

"Ezlynn, listen carefully."

"Yes, Mother?"

"I need to stay here. I want you to listen to Kieran and do whatever he says. He's responsible for you from now on."

Jezebel embraced Ezlynn and cast a spell on her as Ezlynn dozed off to sleep. She had covered Ezlynn in a shield with her last powers, which would make her immune to any attacks, including the sun. She held Kieran's hand, and squeezed it tight, about to cast the same spell on him.

"No, Your Highness," he withdrew his hand, his expression painful. "You'll die. This spell will absorb all your energy if you cast that spell on more than one person."

"This is my last command--"

"Even if you threaten to kill me, I will not." his eyes were staunch.

"Kieran," Jezebel whispered, "I'm sorry."

She cast a spell upon him as a pool of blood began to form around her.

"No..."

Jezebel's body began to evaporate into the air. Kieran discerned her beautiful and generous face for the last time, then kneeled down at the pool of blood. He collected it with a glass bottle, then drank it, pouring some of it to Ezlynn's mouth since blood from purebloods would restore energy. He looked at Ezlynn, who was now protected in Jezebel's cocoon of auspices. A feeling of shame began to wash over him; he had failed his duty to protect the Vampire Royals, but quickly shook the feeling off, looking at Ezlynn's innocuous expression. He cuddled Ezlynn's sleeping body into his arms and patted her head,

"I'll protect you," Kieran smiled, "Forever."

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The Duke had hardened every corner of the house, preventing the humans from ever entering.

"Make some sort of aperture before the sun sets!" a man yelled as the soldiers tried to use whatever they could to make an entrance.

The sun was now scorching on the top of the sky. The Duke winced as his hardening weakened, for Vampires usually slept in the basements to avoid even the slightest sun during the day. Although there were curtains, sunlight severely weakened a Vampire's powers.

"...That's it." the man said from outside, "Bring artificial sun ray guns! Hurry!"

The Duke groaned in pain, his attractive face clouded with trepidation as the soldiers fanned artificial sun rays. His hardening began to weaken with the ultraviolet rays, as the pain began to increase. The humans, taking advantage that his hardening was now almost faint, shattered the windows.

It was the first and last time the Duke had seen the sun through the shattered windows. It was beautiful, but fatal, its sanguine edges burning him to death. Its luminary felt warm on his skin but the sensation lasted only for a second as he evaporated away.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you," he whispered.

__________________________

Kieran jerked his head around.

"Father..."

"Hmm?" Ezlynn rubbed her eyes, "What's wrong, Kieran?"

"Nothing," his whispered, as a tear fell down his face. "Go back to sleep."

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"The Vampire Heir must be in here somewhere, search, damnit!" a man shouted in the master bedroom.

Kieran covered Ezlynn's ears, motioning her to be silent.

"If we don't find her before the sun sets, we'll be destroyed, now find her!" he berated the soldiers. "Do you know how powerful she is? She's the 13th generation of pureblood Vampires! She can destroy us in a matter of seconds after the sunset!"

Although Jezebel had cast a layer of protection on them, attacking first was not a decisive choice so Kieran remained still.

"Where are the dogs?" the man shouted as a soldier brought in police dogs.

Kieran stiffened and motioned Ezlynn to hide inside the space.

Ezlynn looked at him with curiosity but just obeyed his orders without questioning. She slid her little body in the space, closing the lid after her.

The police dogs sniffed below the rug as the humans pushed it aside, to manifest a trapdoor. Kieran was not afraid, knowing that Jezebel's spell would protect him against the sun.

"Shoot that trapdoor until it breaks." the man ordered.

Kieran waved his hand and hardened the trapdoor. All the bullets ricocheted, as the man ordered for artificial sunlight guns. Unexpectantly, Kieran felt debilitated by them, despite Jezebel's protection.

'Had it...not worked?' he thought to himself.

The trapdoor broke open with his distraction of thoughts, manifesting him to the artificial sunlight. He stared into it, half-blinded to such strong light.

'I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you, Ezlynn,' he thought as his body evaporated. Jezebel's protection had failed, but he could not blame her. He only felt guilty that he had failed the job to protect Ezlynn.

Kieran's skin began to fade with the artificial sunlight on him. He smiled as the last bits of him evaporated and turned into dust.

"That was the Vampire heir, correct?" one of the soldiers asked.

"I think so," the man grinned, "That was quite feasible than I'd predicted. Now, let's go kill the Werewolves."

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The sun had set, with the moon now waxing. Ezlynn slowly opened the lid after sensing no human nor sun presence.

"Kieran?" she quietly said.

Ezlynn's eyes glowed red in the darkness, searching for Kieran.

An acrid thirst climbed up her throat as she groaned in pain. Ezlynn knew that she needed her daily supply of blood and looked for any presence of animals to savor.

With the lack of blood, her vision blurred, the thirst intensifying,

"Mhm..." she groaned as she passed out.

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When Ezlynn woke up, she found herself on a hospital bed. A ventilator was placed next to her with a doctor at her bedside. She felt quite queasy from the anesthesia. Something felt different about herself. Even though she tried her hardest, she couldn't find a trace of her memories and didn't even remember her name.

"Oh," the doctor at her bedside said in a croaky voice, "You're awake,"

"Who are you?" she questioned.

"I am your guardian," the doctor answered cautiously. "Do you remember anything about yourself?"

"No..."

"Poor child...You're name's Ezlynn."

"What am I doing here?"

She stared at the doctor, discerning his snowy hair and golden eyes. He grinned, then answered,

"You were knocked unconscious," he answered, embracing her, "By the Vampires."

"Where are my parents, then?"

"They were killed by the Vampires," the doctor looked at her with remorse. "But I'll take care of your life from now on."

She stared at him in confusion, for she had not remembered who her parents were either.

"In case you don't remember," he told her, "You are a Werewolf. One of the last remaining ones. We're all Werewolves and we'll help you train and survive."

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{20 years later}

"Well," Kieran said, "Did you like what you saw?"

Ezlynn's eyes snapped open and stared at him. Half of her was silently crying, half of her livid.

"I-I'm sorry if that upset you," Kieran quickly added, seeing that she was now crying.

"Who am I?" her voice quaked. "And who are you to me?"

"You are the 13th generation of pureblood Vampires, which is the most powerful generation after years and years of pureblood Vampires marrying each other," he reached out for her delicate face and wiped the tears off, "And I am currently the Vampire King, but now since that you're here, you'll inherit the position since you're a genuine Vampire Royal."

"I need an explanation, damnit!"

The windows shattered, sensing her vexation and anger. Ezlynn looked at the shattered glass pieces and the waxing moon.

"W-was that real?" she asked him.

"Yes..." Kieran now regretted accosting her.

"How are you alive, then? You were burned to dust," she whispered, crying.

"It's basically the same technology that they turned you into a Werewolf. Your mother's protection had partially worked. I turned to dust, but my matter was still preserved in it, thanks to your mother's protection. So I re-materialized after a couple of hours."

'They?' Could he possibly be indicating--

"My f*cking god..." she trembled, "Collins's parents..."

Kieran nodded.

"They found you unconscious, transformed you into a Werewolf with physical experiments and used your powers to proliferate the gang and for their protection."

"They lied to me..." she whispered. Now she understood why Collins had apologized while she was sleeping. He had felt deep compunction that he'd lied to her. "They kidnapped me and lied."

Kieran stared at Ezlynn's trembling eyes and squeezed her hand tightly.

"They knew that I was powerful since I was the 13th generation of purebloods," she reminded herself, "And used me for their good."

She closed her eyes and curtailed her trembling. Her troubled expression turned into fierce disgust when she opened her eyes that exuded a shade of red.

"Do you want to turn back?"

"No..." she responded, her voice in a vicious tone, "Thank you for reawakening me."

Kieran slightly bowed,

"Welcome back," he smiled. "Vampire Queen."